Born in 1959, Catherine Balet lives between Paris and the Dordogne. A graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, she began her career as a painter before turning to photography in the early 2000s. This shift marked the beginning of a sensitive visual oeuvre, nourished by a sociological, painterly, and experimental approach.

Her first series, IDENTITY, anchored her practice in contemporary reality through large-format portraits of adolescents. With STRANGERS IN THE LIGHT, she introduced a pictorial dimension to her images, borrowing from the chiaroscuro of Old Masters to explore the impact of digital technologies on light.

Between 2013 and 2016, she created LOOKING FOR THE MASTERS IN RICARDO’S GOLDEN SHOES, a series that questions the legacy of photography’s iconic figures while reflecting on the future of the medium. Reenacting emblematic works from the history of photography, the series is marked by a sharp awareness of ongoing technological and cultural transformations.

In 2017, the series MOODS IN A ROOM marked a deliberate return to painting. Through layered textures and materials, Balet pushed the boundaries of photography, blurring the lines between photographic image and painted surface. The play of transparencies, light, and substance deepened an introspective and sensory engagement with time and space.

Since 2021, Catherine Balet has pursued this exploration in the ENDLESS series, capturing nature’s transformations across the seasons. In 2023, she began ALBEDO, born from the observation of waterways in the Périgord landscape, continuing her dialogue between light, matter, and perception.

In parallel, she founded a research and creation studio in the Dordogne, nestled in a natural setting conducive to experimentation. It is there that she develops her latest series, in a constant interplay between observation, image, and sensation.

Her work has been exhibited across Europe, South America, and Asia. It features in major public collections, and several of her series have been published, notably by Steidl and Dewi Lewis.